Madison Livingston is partnering with Lavender Life Company as a community partner to give stuffed bunnies to foster children through Lavender Life’s Xander Bunny Community Partners’ program.
According to Lavender Life’s website, the program’s mission is to mobilize others to give a warmable, lavender-filled Xander Bunny to all 440,000-plus children in foster care and to encourage those on the front lines rescuing kids.
Lavender helps lessen anxiety, improves sleep and provides calming therapy for children in foster care going through traumatic transitions according to Vic and Vickie Bennett, who started Lavender Life Company and this program.
Through the company’s Buy-a-Bunny-We-Give-a-Bunny Program, named after the Bennetts’ grandson Xander, who entered the family as a two-year-old child in foster care, Lavender Life is able to provide stuffed animals to foster children.
The program just recently released a new line of Xander Dogs that Livingston will be giving to foster children in Union County. Besides being stuffed with a lovely lavender scent, the dogs also have a tag inscribed, “You are loved and not alone.”
This is not the first philanthropic effort Livingston has undertaken. Back in December, the News-Times reported that Livingston, a former client at HOPE Landing, raised $1,255 in 13 hours on Facebook to throw three ice skating parties at the Murphy’s Art District’s (MAD) ice skating rink over three days for children with cognitive and social disabilities and for those that are not able-bodied.
“I wanted to do this because of the foster kids,” Livingston said. “I’m really excited to join Lavender Life on this mission.”
She said she also has a special connection with these efforts.
“We have family and friends that foster, so we have a lot of love for foster kids. I want to help the foster kids and help them not be sad,” Livingston said.
Livingston has been hard at work stuffing the new Xander dogs with her mother, Cindy Nixon, to give to foster children.
According to Lavender Life’s website, since their online store opened in April of 2018, they have donated over 27,000 Xander Bunnies to state, county and private agencies in 13 states so far. The company has the following expectations of community partners listed on their website:
- Connecting with all foster care agencies in the county;
- Ascertaining the number of children entering each month, and number served annually;
- Receive Xander Bunny kits for the entire year;
- Put the kits together (put bunny in the backpack and tie a bow);
- Deliver to all agencies as they need them; and
- Spread the word
Though this may seem like a lot, Livingston said she is up for the challenge.
“We’re the community sponsors in Union County and the first in the state of Arkansas. So we’re really excited,” Livingston’s mother said.
Lavender Life has already sent Livingston and Nixon the materials needed to provide dolls to foster children throughout 2021.
“We’ve already given DHS (Department of Human Services) 50 stuffed dogs to date,” Nixon said. “We have another 62 to stuff and give to them because in 2020, around 112 kids were in foster care in Union County. So we’re going to match that number in stuffed Xander dogs this year.”
Matching her spirit of giving, Livingston shared a special gift that was given to help her efforts.
“The shipping of the Xander Dogs and materials was paid by an anonymous donor,” she said.
For more information on the Xander Bunny/Dog program, visit the Lavender Life website.